Encouraging Eco-Friendliness in the Office

Going green in the workplace can be more challenging than at home. This is primarily because documents still need to be sent out, and employers want to provide their workers with a comfortable environment. If you’ve always got to be getting on or reminding employees to go green, it can cause disruption and annoyance in the office. So let’s talk about eco-friendliness in the office.

There must be a better way! Our planet is important. It’s quite literally, at the center of our world and we should always be putting it first. Even the smallest impact, is an impact on the earth and its delicate ecosystem.

Luckily there are a few easy solutions that can be quickly implemented, from choosing emails over print-outs to choosing an eco-friendlier paper should you need to print. Over time, you can bring in stricter measures or even encourage a bit of inter-department competition over which team can go greenest.

Saving Power

Encouraging power saving methods in the office can go a long way, particularly when you have teams of employees using computers and machines every day. Straight away you can request employees to turn off their screensavers, instead opting for power saving modes on monitors.

At the end of the day make sure all computer towers and monitors get switched off,. Don’t let them go into the power-saver mode. Although a monitor uses around 1 watt or less when in standby mode, you are still looking at a few pounds per user per year, this soon adds up due to the increased team size.

Can your office utilize Solar Power? Depending on the location and direction your building faces, you may be suitable for solar panels. Although initial installation can be expensive, there are grants and funds available to help you get set up, and it’ll start to offset costs straight away.

Clean Up Your Act

If you look at your office kitchen, you are likely able to see areas that need improvement straight away. This could be swapping paper towels with dishcloths and electric hand dryers. Or maybe there can be an improvement in water consumption. There’s no need to restrict bathroom access but consider low-flush toilets and swap the kettle for a hot water dispenser.

Kettles use power every time they are boiled, often boiling the same amount of water several times before it gets used. A hot water dispenser uses less power keeping the water hot and offers a smaller power footprint in the kitchen.

You could also implement a recycle and compost bin, so employees can correctly dispose of food wastes or biodegradable/recyclable items.

Reward Employees for Greener Living

The best way to get employees behind a system is to offer a reward. Whether this includes different departments or teams to face off against each other or promoting individual eco-friendliness. A happy employee will also be more willing to help the business work towards their green goal.

You can keep your employees happy by making sure they feel valued and by ensuring they are being paid correctly. You can seek out a pay scale salary if you want to ensure your company is paying in-line with the industry standard. Or a reward management survey to ensure you are meeting the quota in the industry or to encourage better working, going above the industry standard.

The Long Commute

Do you know how your work-force makes their way into the office? Could your employees be car-sharing or using public transport? Consider offering benefits to those who do. This doesn’t have to be monetary. Instead maybe allow employees to accrue time that could be used towards a half day of extra holiday. Or perhaps allow them to work from home day every month. It’s a good motivator for your employees to seek greener methods of travel and will always help do more the planet in the long run.

If your business has multiple sites, why not consider using meeting rooms in a central city like Derby for when you need to get the whole team together? Not only will this cut the commuting time, but make it easier on other members of staff to attend.

Gone are the day of eco-unfriendly offices. Everywhere has some improvements to make and it’s important we act now, for a better world tomorrow. More than ever, working families need to consider the world they would like to leave for their children and grandchildren.

The world changes more every year, and we are living through global warming, right now. But, don’t lose hope. The more changes we can encourage people to make, the healthier our planet will become. What small changes can you make in your everyday life to achieve eco-friendliness?

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